The Light in the Mountain
by Wolfn
Summary: The year that Fairy Tail disbanded was a long one for them. They lost and won so many things. Gale A bit of Gajeel's foul languaje.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. One hell of a journey.

"Gajeel! Wait for me!"

"Levy, hurry up, we are gonna miss the train."

The pair of mages walked by the streets of Magnolia. It was fairly early, and the Train station had just started operations with the first trains leaving. Such a train was the aim of the two mages.

"We are going pretty far, aren't we?" She asked. Gajeel nodded. It was about twelve hours in train from Magnolia. Plus they would need to walk into the mountains a couple of days, so not only did they need to catch the first and only train to the Demon Spine mountains, as they were called, but they would need to camp in the forest at night. It would be a week at least before they returned to the Guild.

"Un. The place in the northern frontier of the continent. Its nowhere near. You brought everything, right?" He asked.

"Yes!" She chirped. The dissolution of Fairy Tail had a great shock on both Levy and Gajeel. A lot had changed. But two months into it, working at wherever put food on the table was nothing strange for the Iron mage, but Levy still didn't get used to it. Partly because she didn't want to get used to it; she still believed in the bottom of her heart that Fairy Tail still existed. Their guild marks were live proof of that. At least the dorms were still in effect, so she didn't have to worry about having a roof over her head. "So Gajeel," She added "What's this mission about?"

"Go to the indicated place. Retrieve the artifact. Return safely." He said matter-of-factly.

"I see." She started. She always liked to have as much information about anything she did. Missions, quests, or just reading, for her, information was a must. "Could you lend me the mission poster?"

"No." He replied coldly.

"Huh? Why not?" She asked. They were arriving at the station, and as they turned their respective tickets and got into their cabin, Gajeel answered without turning to her.

"Lost it." Lost it, he says. She couldn't believe his words. Losing a mission poster was a rookie mistake, and Gajeel was no rookie. It was your proof that you received the quest, and your guarantee that you'll get paid. Granted, just showing the Guild crest to the employer was more than enough most times. But there were times in which, hopefully not this time, employers would refuse to pay, or change the conditions placed on the poster. Which would mean a terrible loose of time for whatever mage answered in the best case scenario. "It will be fine, Shrimp" He cut the silence. "The employer is a someone I know. That's how we got the mission in the first place." He completed bluntly.

 _'That makes a bit more of sense.'_ She thought. In a sense, guild less mages were no different than mercenaries, and could not get missions from the magic consul, unless contacted directly. And even though she had received invitations from other guilds, she refused them wholeheartedly. So it was either this, or search for a normal job.

They sat in the seats on their cabin. Since it was such a long trip, the private cabin was a must. Sure, it was more expensive than just a normal seat, but it also meant that they had a "private" room, door and all; and two sets of seats in which one could curl up to sleep if one so wished. This last two facts made the script mage blush a bit. Not that she didn't like the scenario, but it just felt too good. Then, the silence that flooded the room was broken by the sheer shriek of the metal wheels of the train, announcing the departure. This was getting nowhere, and if she wanted to make the fullest of this opportunity, she had to act first.

"B-By the way, Gajeel." She started.

"Huh?" He grunted.

"Where's Lily?" She asked. She was genuinely curious as why the Dragon Slayer did not have his companion with him.

"He is on a job of his own. And besides, our job asked for us two and only us."

"Huh? I didn't know that." She said. She really didn't thought about it that much. The opportunity to be with Gajeel for a week was too good to let pass by. And it wasn't as if her two sidekicks could come with her with Gajeel and Lily present, after what happened last time. As she pushed that thought aside, she asked. "And why is that?"

"Dammit Shrimp, I don't have all the answers." He retorted, clearly annoyed.

"Sorry..." She said, lowering her head. She didn't mean to annoy him, but the more she asked the stranger it seemed. Why only them? Why so far? And what was this artifact that they needed to recover? She thought about stopping, but her curiosity got the better of her. "And the payment?" She finally asked.

"..." After looking at her for a moment, Gajeel closed his eyes. It first she thought he did that because she kept annoying him, but it wasn't. It seemed different. After staying like that for a while, he finally spoke.

"...If we pull this off, you could be set for life."

"Wha-?!" She blabbed. Set for life?! Just who was this guy?! She turned to the window as her head flooded with new questions, and far-fetched theories about who this client could be, and what was this strange artifact would be able to do. Not that she cared about the money, but the way he said it made her imagination go wild. Was he some kind of king looking for a magical, inconceivable treasure? Could it be some kind of powerful magic that could destroy the kingdom? Or maybe some lost library with documents of lost magic! Ah, now she reaaaly wanted to look at the poster. Stupid Gajeel. Why did he had to loose it?

She stopped her mental rambling to look at Gajeel. He had both arms and legs crossed, as well as his eyes. Was he meditating perhaps? Or did she really annoyed him that much? Her previous euphoria dissipated into a feeling of guilt. She didn't mean to be rude. She trusted his word, she just wanted to know more.

"I trust you, you know?" She whispered.

"Eh? Where did that come from?" He asked. Curse his stupid dragon hearing. Whispers could be heard easily by him, and the silence she provoked by her internal debate didn't help at all. Not only did she interrogated him, but now she's spouting a bunch of embarrassing things.

"T-T-That's not it!" She quickly retorted "Its just that since its such a weird quest and well I didn't knew anything I wanted to ask you all of those things! But I didn't mean to offend you! I mean, I trust on what you say even if we don't have the poster as long as you say its fine then I'll-"

"Shrimp, calm down." He spoke. He placed a firm hand on top of her head, and pated slightly. "There's no need to freak out. If you disliked going to missions with me you should have said before hand." He added.

Her cheeks turned to a bright red. "That's not it!" She repeated "I like going on missions with you!" She shouted. By the time her head processed what she just said it was too late. Her cheeks were bright red, as embarrassment and shame came to her. Bringing her hands to her mouth, just before she said anything she realized Gajeel had a sly grin on his face. As his fang showed, a small "Gihi" could be heard by Levy. His figure finally took a more relaxed posture on the cabin's seat, but that did not change what Gajeel was doing with her.

He was messing with her.

Nothing new there thou. He never wasted the opportunity for a snarky reply, or a stupid joke whenever he saw fit.

"...Stupid Gajeel..." She finally said. A small laugh escaped Gajeel's mouth as Levy banged on ins chest. But oh no, sir, she was not going down without a fight. "By the way Gajeel," She said in a sweet, innocent voice "How come you are not a soppy mess right now?" This being a Train, he shouldn't be in any condition to sit straight up, let alone mess with her.

"Ah, that would be the old hag's fault." He said, the grin never leaving his face. "She gave us this a while ago. Said it should help." He took a small glass container from his pocket. Small blue spheres rolled around and clanked at Gajeel's movement. _'Shame...'_ she thought. She had remembered Lucy telling her that Natsu usually took a nap on her shoulder, or use her legs as a pillow whenever they used the train. It seemed that this wouldn't happen today.

"Why the long face shrimp? Don't tell me you had something in mind?" He smirked. Her cheeks turned red again, as he shook off the hand on her head. This guy...

At least he seemed in a better mood.

A couple of hours had passed since then. In that time, Gajeel proceeded to tease Levy for a while before growing tired and deciding to take a nap. Even with the bigger space in the cabin, he could barely lie in the seat. Using his one bag as pillow, it didn't take long until Levy could hear his calm breathing. At the same time, Levy took out one of the many novels she brought with her, anticipating the amount of free time they'll have on their hands. It was a pretty basic book, one she cherished in her heart. It was the story of monsters in between monsters. Or what the monsters called "monsters" in their world. Strangely enough, the monsters "monsters" were nothing else than humans. And it showed how thanks to their good will and compassion, they were able to fit into the society of monsters. Accepted by them. Respected by them.

And so, she travelled into her fantasy word in what it seemed forever. And just as she was cutting close to the half of the book, a growl snapped her out of her fairy tale.

"…" Her tired eyes became sad, as her expression betrayed her worry to what was now happening. In front of her, his companion, the mighty Dragon Slayer was moving erratically in his sleep. His expression ever changing, he clawed his hands in his crossed arms, while grunting and grumbling incoherencies. Levy had heard from Lily before. There was not a single night Gajeel didn't have this kind of behavior. Nightmares and night terrors were usual in between mages with a history like his, but as much as she would like to deny, he usually triggered those nightmares to others, not suffered them himself.

With a soft 'thud' Levy closed the book she was currently reading, taking mental note of the page she was so she could continue in a later date. With special care, she put said book in her bag, making sure not to make any more noise. She rested her elbows on her legs, as she rested her chin on her hands, wondering just what kind of demon could make someone like Gajeel shiver like this. What on earth could hunt the man she saw so many times overcome kings, monsters and demons? For her, he was unbeatable. He was an unmovable pillar that stood at the top, alongside people like Natsu, Gray and Erza. Falling gently to her knees, she brought her hand near his, taking it ever so slightly. He was so strong. He felt so strong. Yet even she sometimes forgot he was no superhero. He was Human. Like her. With human problems. She brought her torso to his sleeping frame, awkwardly yet wrapping her arms around him.

"Everything will be ok.." she said. She hugged him as tightly as her small frame would allow it to her. She couldn't think of anything else. She didn't know what else to do. She was powerless to help this man. As that thought arrived at her head, a small tear escaped from her eyes. "Ill be here with you, ok?" She whispered. More tears escaped her eyes. She couldn't stop the sobbing. It hurt so much, this feeling of defeat. "I'll be here for you... " She tried her all, but to see him like this, to suffer in the only place he could rest. It broke her heart. She freed one of her arms as she wiped the tears from her eyes, and she brought that same hand to his cheek. She closed here eyes as she steeled her heart. "You think..." She spoke to no one in particular. "You think a kiss would do any good?" She finally said. Her hear was fuzzy, and she wasn't thinking straight. But she didn't care at this point. She had to do something. And she thought that maybe this selfish request would do the trick, just like in her books. So she took a deep breath, and brought her lips near his. And just as she closed her eyes, she felt the shivering stop. She opened her eyes, and was greeted with two red iris staring right back at her. Still not quite completely, both mages blinked several times, at it took a full 5 seconds for Levy to realize the situation.

"…"

"…"

"….."

"….."

"...Yo..."  
"...Eh..?"

' _Eh?_ ' She still couldn't believe it. No. She didn't want to believe it. She tried to recap what was happening. She was hugging him. The big bad Iron Dragon Slayer was being hugged by her. That enough made her cheeks bright red. Not only that, but afterwards she tried to ' _kiss_ ' him. Kiss him _'_ _on the lips_ _'_! And to make matters worse, he was staring at her. Which in return could mean only one thing...

 _'He is awake'_

 _'Awake'_

 _AWAKE?!_

"Gua..." As she fell backwards, she could feel the blood leaving her head, as her strength disappeared, so did her consciousness.

* * *

Allo! Wolfen here. Here again with a new story. I've been having some inspiration from the last chapters, but I the sleep depravation its taking a toll on me. I hope you guys like this new chapter and the new chapter for "Dragon Instincts" should be up and running by the end of the week, perhaps a bit later. Have a good day!


	2. Chapter 2

Gale A light in the mountain.

Chapter 2.

A quiet night.

"Oi! Shrimp!" Gajeel freed one arm to get Ahold of Levy. As the small mage lost consciousness, he tried to push aside the picture of her beautiful eyes. What the hell had happened?

"Shrimp! Get ahold of yourself, dammit!" He asked. But to no avail. She was long gone. As the redness of her cheeks disappeared little by little, he couldn't help but ask what the hell was Levy doing. Probably wanted to check if he was still alive or something.

"What the hell…" He told to nobody in particular. He brought both legs down on the floor, as he helped Levy onto the seat, pushing the bag he was using as pillow to the floor sitting right beside her. Once in their seat he brought two fingers to her neck, feeling her smooth skin, as well as her somewhat fast heartbeat. Removing his fingers from her neck, his red eyes scanned her small body, her mouth, her nose, and finally her chest, which raised and lowered in a calmer pace. After confirming that she was fine, Gajeel took a minute to admire the small mage that slept in front of him. Levy rested on the train seat, as comfortable as Gajeel managed to place her. Remembering the feeling of her skin, he placed a firm, yet gentle hand in Levy's cheek. He ran his thumb along her lips, which looked a hundred times softer than her skin. A pink color shined in them, as the sunset shined through the window in their room. He could tell that they were about half way through the trip. Yet still a long way to go.

"Oi… Levy…" He spoke. But there was no answer from the small mage. Perhaps unaware of it, Gajeel almost never called her by her name. But as a small blush creeped on his cheeks, he took his hand from her cheek, her softness staying for a few seconds before pushing the warm feeling off his head.

"Now what the hell am I gonna do with you...?" He asked. It wasn't the first time she had fallen asleep in front of him. But usually she had her lap dogs to wake her up, or at the very least her own tent to go and crash onto. But this was the first time he had seen her so close.

'Well, damn.' He thought. She was beautiful. As the last light of the sunset disappeared, the night appeared to make her look magical. Her pink lips, her white skin, her blue hair. Everything about her seemed to capture the iron dragon slayer. Gajeel couldn't help but to stare. He knew. He had realized a while back, actually. No matter how strong he could seem. How amazing he was. (Because he was amazing, and he knew it) He would never compare to her. Honestly, it started by guilt. He fucked up. And boy how did he fucked up. He had no orders, no one to blame but himself. He was stupid. He was immature. He was…

"Sorry…"

No matter how many times he said it, no matter how bad he could get beaten up, how much could he sacrifice for her, he knew it would never be enough. Not for her, but for himself.

´And to top it off, you go ahead and fall for her, you imbecil. ´

He swears to himself that he was trying to repent. He never, in all his life, wanted to fall in love. And fall for her. It seemed like a sin. For him, as for many others, love was only a farce, a cover up for people to prosper and reproduce. But then he found her.

The moon was up by now, and it shined perfectly on her, as she shuffled on her seat, she shifted from the seat to her companion. Taking him by surprise, he did his earnest not to move, not to wake her up. Even so, her warmth created a small smile in him.

"What'cha planning, huh Shrimp?" He asked in joke. Granted, she wasn't prepared for anything, like he was. And she wasn't exactly the strongest. But she was an exceptional mage. An exceptional woman. So he had to protect her. He owed her that much. He wanted to protect her. And he wanted to be with her. He wanted that and a hundred more things, but, well…

'That would have to wait.'

As he thought this, a small shiver came from the sleeping mage. As a small face of discomfort appeared, Gajeel could not help but to chuckle a bit, before poking her cheek with a small finger.

'Gihi. Cute.' He thought. 'Let's see now…' In a fluid movement, he took his coat from the bag, and covered Levy with it. With this, her small frown and shivers disappeared, and her face took a calm expression. Gajeel smiled at the transformation, and positioned himself on the frame of the window. As he took his eyes off the mage, he looked outside the window. They were pretty far already, and fields and crops were the only thing in sight. A lot had changed since he came to Fairy Tail, and a lot was still to change. He had changed already, and knew that he needed to change even more. He closed his eyes, feeling tired of the sudden surprise. As he fell into the dream realm, he remembered. 'It was a pain in the ass to find the right moment to make this happen, you know? A moment in which we could be like this.' He knew he didn't deserve this, deserve her. But damn, it felt right. It felt so damn right. 'Still… For you, it's worth it. ´ Finally succumbing to the dream, he wished they could stay like this forever.

Little did he know, that tonight, his nightmares would not torment him tonight.

A loud whistle resounded in the night. The steel wheels of the trained whined as the train itself came to a halt. The initial noise was enough to wake both mages up, Gajeel knew it would still be a couple more minutes before they were allowed to leave the train. Unaware of this, Levy shifted her position, before finally giving up and waking up. Rubbing her eyes, a big yawn escaped her mouth. As she sat up right, she took the rough fabric, and placed it on her shoulders unaware it wasn't hers.

"What..?" She asked half asleep. She knew that they must have arrived at their destination for the train to stop, but what she did not know is how did they arrived so fast. Looking around, she found her bag on the floor of the room, as well as Gajeel's. She then looked at the seat in front of her, expecting to see the iron mage still asleep. Much to her surprise, said mage was not there.

"Huh? Gajeel?" She asked fully awake.

"What." Came a response aside her.

"Eep!" She squealed in surprise. As she turned around, the pieces started to come together. If the bags were on the floor, and the seat was empty, then what was she sleeping on?

"Gajeel! You startled me!" She said beet red. As Gajeel turned to face her, she somewhat fixed her hair while admiring the state of the waking dragon. Now she'd done it. Hugged him, tried to kiss him and now-

"Slept well, Shrimp?" He teased. Her cheeks took a new shade of red, as she couldn't help but pout at the dragon slayer. 'Give me a break. Jeez.'

"Well enough," she finally answered. She slept better than she would dare to admit. _Specially_ to him. "and you?"

"Same." Answered Gajeel. He stretched as he stood up, barely managing to stretch his arms in the room. As a couple cracks filled the room, he took a look outside. "We're here." He spoke.

Walking past him, she stared out the window. The station they had stopped was an old wooden station, with only one pair of rails. The side the window was allowed the mages to contemplate the small town outside. Filled mostly with crop fields, the small amount of buildings was so simple Levy couldn't help but ask if this indeed was a town. Yet it brought a sense of calm. As if she knew them somehow.

"Looks nice." She said. Turning to Gajeel.

"Humph." With this, Gajeel crouched and grabbed both bags. "Let's go." He said. Opening the door, Levy followed suit, secretly trying to forget everything that happened in the train.

"Please be careful when leaving the train" A voice came from the single speaker in the station. Other than the Station manager, there was no one else in the station. The little noise that could be heard came either from the street past the station, or from the train itself.

Slightly creeped out by the ghost-like ambient, Levy asked. "So, you mentioned something about camping, didn't you Gajeel?"

"Right." He confirmed "But unless you want us to starve in the mountain, we need to stock up first." Already walking past her, he continued talking. "What did you bring with'cha, Shrimp?"

"Well- "

"Besides books." He completed.

"How rude! I brought more than only books!" She said. At this answer, Gajeel raised her bag, staring at it for a second, then staring at her.

"You sure?"

"Of course! I'm not going to wear the same clothes in such a long mission!" As she hit him playfully once.

"Ah. Right right." For some reason, Gajeel decided to stop the teasing there. Perhaps because of the stupid question. Or maybe perhaps because he forgot about having her take her clothes off, even if just for changing them.

Regardless, Levy and Gajeel both knew that the mission had started the moment they stepped out of the train. And they needed to act accordingly. As much as a pain in the ass he could be, he still acted as a professional when it came to these things. First things first. "Where will we meet our employer?" She asked. Even if they didn't have the mission poster, letting the employer know that they arrived and were starting the mission should take the top priority.

"I already met him back in Magnolia. We well rendezvous with him once we are back." He said.

"Huh? But then you know the details of the mission?" Asked Levy.

"Correct." He answered.

As they walked down the muddy street, Levy asked.

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"Tell you 'bout what?"

"About the mission details!" She answered. She was clearly bewildered as why Gajeel had forgotten so many details. Was he always this laid-back?

"Fine, fine." He said. With their bags on his back, he crossed his arms and glared at Levy. Levy crossed her own arms, and glared at the iron dragon slayer. In the background, the sunrise started to appear, but the pair paid no attention. After a brief moment of mutual glaring, Gajeel Started speaking.

"Employer's name goes by Xavier E. Ford. Or X.E. Ford. He was the son of a powerful knight fourteen years ago. In an expedition to the Demon Spine Mountains with his father, his father disappeared and is presumed dead. A family relic disappeared with him. Guy's giving everything he has for whoever finds the relic. Happy now?" He said. Levy took a second to take everything he had just said. So the man lost his father, and a family heirloom with him. The father died and his kid is giving everything for this thing?

"Is he really serious? Are you sure we are not taking advantage of the man?" She asked. It was not too late to deny the quest, but that did not mean that someone else wouldn't take it. But Gajeel was already walking towards what it seemed as an Inn.

"He seemed serious. It's his request and his resolve. As a man I need to respect that." He answered. As he opened the door to the store, his face seemed dead serious. Maybe something between men? That, or he was hanging out too much with Elfman an Ichiya. Regardless the reason, he did not flatter. And so, she mustn't as well.

"Alright. Let's do this!"

* * *

Hey there! Wolfen here. Sorry about taking so long. I finally moved back from Japan! The flight was a pain, and I still have a lot of stuff to do here at home. So I really apologize. ´^` Thank you for your comments and your reviews! i´m glad you guys are enjoying my stories, and will try my best to keep getting better at writing! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


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